Barney Frank To Speak On Final Night Of Democratic National Convention

Barney Frank To Speak At Final Night Of Democratic National Convention
Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass. gestures during his news conference on his retirement, Tuesday, Nov. 29, 2011, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass. gestures during his news conference on his retirement, Tuesday, Nov. 29, 2011, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) will speak on the final night of the Democratic National Convention, a last-minute change that means he will speak just ahead of President Barack Obama, according to a Democratic official.

Speaking on background, the official confirmed that Frank was moved from Wednesday to Thursday night.

"Enthusiasm and applause in the hall lengthened the program. We made adjustments to include Congressman Frank in Thursday's program," the official said.

The change also means that Frank, the longest serving openly gay member of Congress, will speak on the same night as Rep. Tammy Baldwin (Wis.), who is also gay. Earlier in the day, Baldwin talked to HuffPost about how the Republican Party did not feature a single openly gay speaker at its convention.

"I think that this elevates the contrast between the values of each of the parties and the inclusiveness of each of the parties," Baldwin said. "When we say Americans have a clear, clear choice -- and Wisconsinites have a clear, clear choice in my U.S. Senate race -- these sort of decisions on the part of the Republican Party amplify that choice, and what it means."

On Tuesday, Baldwin was hailed as a hero when she addressed the LGBT Caucus, a group clearly energized at this year's convention given their victories under Obama.

Amanda Terkel contributed to this report.

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